


The Aster Chapter 3

by allyouneedislove_thebeatles



Series: The Aster [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 12:01:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16475180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allyouneedislove_thebeatles/pseuds/allyouneedislove_thebeatles
Summary: Hyung-Shik introduces Birdie to his boyfriend. Aito starts to become paranoid,





	The Aster Chapter 3

Chapter 3; Birdie’s POV 

I wake up, my head is beating and Teongyeom is laying on my face. Great. I pat Teongyeom on the head and he slowly gets off my head. I sit up and go to the bathroom to take a shower. 10 minutes later I’m clean and ready to go to school. Wait. What time is it? It’s 9:10 I have 35 minutes?! I hate you evil clock… I glare at my alarm clock that didn’t alarm. The school was 45 minutes away. I jumped in my car and drove off. 

I finally found a parking spot and rushed in the lobby. My arm was grasped behind me. “Birdie! Where the hell have you been? I was worried sick!” I turned around to see Aito. She was dressed in work clothes, and the makeup on her face couldn’t hide the bags under her eyes. “Um, I was running late. What are you even doing here?” I asked. She sighed sounding relieved. “Nothing just wanted to stop by on the way to work, ” she said. Liar. Aito worked the opposite way of town. I shook my head, “Why are you so tired? Did Kia keep you up all night or something?” I inquired. “Work,” she responded gruffly. “Kia didn’t help, though. I think she-” her phone vibrated. “Hello...Yes, Sir...I’m aware of that, Sir….Yes, I’m on my way.” She hung up and looked at me. “I have to go because of…… work Text me about your date later, we need to talk.” She said sounding distracted. Before I could say anything, she was running out the door and to her car. “It wasn’t a date….” I whispered. 

 

I ran inside Social Communications panting. “You’re late.” the teacher said as if expecting an explanation. “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” I half-heartedly promised. I took my seat next to Hyung-Shik and smiled. “How’s it going with your boyfriend?” I expected a sad response or a sigh, but instead, he smiled. “Well actually when I got home last night, he had made me homemade Bupyeon. It was really sweet,” he said smiling. “Oh good,” I said with the slightest hint of disappointment in my voice.

“He wants to meet you, by the way.” he followed up. He sounded so hopeful. His dark eyes seemed to shine with a glare of excitement. I couldn’t say no to such a beautiful person, even if it would make me uncomfortable. “Of course, I would love to meet..” I stopped, “Khuzaimah.” he replied blushing at the sound of his lover's name. If only that was my name. I stopped flustered at my selfish thoughts. “How about the coffee shop next door during lunch. I’ll call Khazi and tell him?” he offered. “Of course.” I blurted. He had a way of making me speak without thinking. 

Surprisingly the first half of the day went by quickly. I was hesitant and even considering not showing up to the coffee shop. But sure enough, I was standing outside the small cafe. I took a deep breath and walked in. I saw Hyung-Shik with a man presumably his boyfriend. They both stood up, upon noticing me. Khuzaimah was slightly shorter than Hyung-Shik and had blonde hair, which swept over one eye. Not in an emo way, but in a cute way. Pull yourself together, woman. You can’t just jump from one many to another so quickly. Especially when they’re dating each other... I shook my thoughts away. “Hi, Hyung-Shik.” I turned to Khuzaimah. “You must be Khuzaimah,” I said going to shake his hand. “Oh Birdie, it’s nice to meet you. Call me Zai.” He said to me pulling me into an unexpected embrace. I awkwardly returned it. 

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“So, Zai, what are you studying?” I asked sipping my herbal tea. “Well, I’m in culinary school right now. I’m hoping to start my own restaurant one day. What are you studying?” he asked. I took another sip of my hot beverage. “Bunch of things. Journalism, Choreography, but yeah.” I responded. “So how did you guys meet?” I asked smiling at Hyung-Shik who bit into his bagel while putting his arm around Khuzaimah. Khuzaimah half-heartedly smiled at me, “It’s a long story. Not one acceptable by many. Perhaps one day when we have more time.” he replied. I decided not to push the subject. We made small talk which grew into conversations that lifelong friends would have. It was one of the nicest times I’ve had in a while. My phone vibrated. I quickly looked down to see seven missed calls from Aito and three texts from Kia.   
Kia: Hey where is Aito have you seen her? She was gone when I woke up  
Kia: She won’t answer her phone  
Kia: Also do you wanna come over after school? There’s something I need to tell u   
Me: Sure Aito wanted to talk to me anyways 

I put up my phone and apologize to the guys in front of me for the disruption. I sighed and leaned my head on the table. “You okay?” I feel Hyun-Shik’s hand on my shoulder. “Yeah.” I sigh again. “It’s nothing.” I shake my head and smile to reassure them. “Okay then.” The both harmonized. I laughed hard. This was nice. Khuzaimah was trying to balance a spoon on his nose. Hyung-Shik and I laughed. He would be a great lover. Wait, what? No brain shut up hell no… I ignored my brain and continued laughing.  
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It was late when I met up with Kia. When I asked about Aito she scoffed. “How should I know?” she said annoyed while scratching the back of her head. As if on cue, Aito walked in. She was mad. “Birdie. Why didn’t you answer my calls.” “I was hanging with friends,” I replied raising my voice a bit. She sighed and sat down on the couch, covering her face with her hands. I walked to Aito and hugged her. “What happened?” 

She sighed as a single tear slipped down her face. “I-I-I-I can’t….” she whispered. Kia scooted closer to us. “Look, Ai, we’re here for you. You can’t just let this build up inside of you ” she whispered as she made quick eye contact with me. Man, that’s the most mature thing I’ve ever heard Kia say. “Yeah, Kia’s right. We’re worried about you.” I said rubbing her back. She looked at me with a mix of frustration and sadness. “If you really want to make me happy, answer my phone calls.” She said passive aggressively. I sighed and looked up at her. “What did you call me about?” I asked solemnly. “I was just checking on you..” she barely whispered. Kia and looked at each other in disbelief. This was not like Aito. She held my hand and rested her head on Kia. “I love you guys so much. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you,” she said as more tears slipped down her cheeks. “Why would something bad happen to us?” Kia asked. “I don’t know,” Aito said obviously lying. “Ai, we’re safe, we’ll be safe. We haven’t done anything that would put us in danger.” I said trying to comfort her. She mumbled something quietly. She faked smiled at me. “You’re right I’m being stupid. Let’s play a game or something,” she said getting up and going to the hall closet. She pulled out one of the games that Kira had brought from America called CLUE. 

“This is a fun one,” she said smiling. I looked at Kia who shrugged her shoulders and got up to join Aito. I followed. “I call being Miss Scarlet,” Kia yelled pouring some apple juice into a glass. “I’ll be Miss Peacock.” Aito followed. “Well, I guess I’ll be Mrs. White,” I said sitting on their bed. We played for about ten minutes before Aito asked about my date. I explained to her and Kia the situation that went down the night before. They looked shocked. “So… he’s gay..” Kia said shocked. “Wow, Birdie, that’s a lot.” Aito followed. I laughed. “It’s okay. I met his boyfriend today during lunch.” I responded, playing my turn. It was silent. “Oh,” Kia eventually said awkwardly. “Well, how’d it go?” Aito asked. “Great, it was super fun. They’re both great.” I responded happily. They were quiet for another moment, as they looked at each other.  
We played for a while until Aito won. “I think it was Mr. Green, with a gun in the ballroom,” she announced. Sure enough, she was right. “That’s not fair. She’s an actual FBI agent.” Kia pouted. Aito giggled, “It’s not my fault you couldn’t figure it out. Kia gasped, “You’re so rude!” she cried. I laughed at their childish banter so hard I fell over. I looked at the time, 1:45 am. “Crap, guys I gotta go. I have school tomorrow.” I said getting up. “Aw, you sure?” Kia cooed. “Yeah, I wanna get up early tomorrow,” I said walking out. “Call me when you get home,” Aito said. I nodded and walked out of the apartment.

I started to walk to my car wobbling as I start to fall asleep. I stop, my eyes wide. Someone’s watching me. I start to run. I turn around, but no one is there. Was it a trick of the eye? I slowed down. I felt heavy breathing. I turned to face forwards and scream. There is a man whose face is not illuminated enough to see. He was breathing on me and I noticed he had two people behind me. I screamed. I kicked the front man in the groin and ran. I jumped into my car. I panicked tried to put the keys in the admission and once I did I floored the pedal. I drove towards my house for about five minutes, I looked in my rearview mirror and noticed they were following me. I took a few right turns, and they followed. I began to drive to the police station. When I pulled up in the parking lot, they drove away. Is this what Aito was talking about? I wondered. After spending an hour in the parking lot, and filing a police report, I drove home. When I got home, I called Hyung-Shik and told him what happened. He offered to come over, but I denied. I didn’t sleep a bit that night. 

The next morning I woke up, surprisingly I fell asleep, and went to check my email. Apparently, there was a schoolwide plumbing problem so school is closed all day and possibly tomorrow. Maybe I’ll see if I can go over to Kia and Aito’s place today. I texted Aito who said she was free today. I got in my car and made sure my cell phone was close to me. I didn’t want to be alone today. 

When I got to the apartment complex, I noticed Aito waiting for me. She had her arms crossed and was pacing back and forth. I parked and walked up to her. “Aito, hey how are you?” I asked walking towards her. She remained frowning. “What’s wrong. Somethings wrong, I can see it. Something’s bothering you.” Aito said worryingly. I sighed, “Could we talk about this inside?” I asked. She nodded as we took the stairs to her home. When we got to the front door Aito stopped and looked at me. “Heads up, Areum dumped Kia, so she’s in a mood,” she told me opening up the door. When we walked in, the house was a mess. I didn’t question it. Aito got me a water and we sat at the table. She didn’t even have a chance to say anything before I broke down crying.

I caved and told her the whole story of last night. When I finished she was silent. She typed something on her computer and shut it. She looked grimly at me. “You’re staying here,” she said. Wait, what? I looked at her wide-eyed for a few minutes. “You heard me,” she spoke. I remained in shock. “Your choices are either to stay here, or have one of my FBI colleagues stay with you at all times.” I finally managed to come up with words. “Aito, it was probably some creepy pervert.” I insisted. She looked sad for half a second, before going back to her stern look. “It’s not optional,” she responded. Suddenly the bedroom door opened and Kia walked out wearing a long-sleeved sweatshirt and pyjama pants. She made eye contact with me and nodded before pouring herself a mug of whiskey with a touch of coffee. Aito rolled her eyes. “Kia, get over it. She doesn’t want you. Most people have it worse than you.” She said while sending a text. Kia frowned. I expected her to cry, but instead, she threw the mug into the sink with a strength that broke it into millions of pieces. She marched towards us. 

“Y’know Aito, I’m sick and tired of being treated like a child. Just because I don’t have a perfect life like you, doesn’t mean you can treat me like shit,” she yelled. Aito stood up, “I never said I have a perfect life, hell you don’t know half the things that I go through. Stop acting like a child, and start respecting me for what I do for you two!” she yelled even louder. This was not like Aito and Kia. This was the total opposite. Kia laughed, “Well maybe I would know if you TALKED TO US!” She said raising her voice. Aito mumbled something. “Would you like to say that a little louder?” she asked. Aito stood up, “NOTHING! IT’S FUCKING NOTHING! I- You wouldn’t understand. Just… don’t break any more mugs okay?” Aito sits back down going back to her computer. Kia rolls her eyes and goes back into her room. She looks up at me, “Sorry you had to see that.” Aito says rubbing her temples. I stared at her. “Um, what the hell was that?” I asked, still in shock. She rolled her eyes, as she headed towards the sink. “I told you already,” Aito said cleaning the sink of its glass shards. It began to smell like whiskey all throughout the room. “No, there’s more. You were just as bad as her.” I argued. She took a quick glance towards me and sighed, “Work. Work is getting tough right now. It’s stressing me out.” she said lowering her voice. I decided not to push. My phone rang. “Hello?” I said as I answered the phone. “Hey Birdie,” said Hyung-Shik’s voice from the other end. “Hey, what’s up? Sorry I didn’t call you sooner. I’m at the girls' apartment.” I replied. “Oh good, how are they?” He asked. I smiled to myself for a second before replying. “Well, I really don’t know to tell you the truth…” I said. He laughed, he had a cute belly laugh which made butterflies in my stomach. BIRDIE STOP! I couldn’t keep thinking this way. “Yeah, it’s strange.” I finally said. “So the reason I called was that there is a new restaurant opening up downtown, and Khuzaimah wants to try to get a job there, so we were wondering if you would like to join?” he asked. Was it just me, or was there hope in his voice? “Yes, of course, I would,” I replied blushing. Aito looked up at me suspiciously. 

“Great, I’ll text you the details,” he said before saying goodbye and hanging up. I turned to Aito, “I’m going out with some friends tonight.” I told her. She shook her head, “No you’re not. Not without a bodyguard.” she said sipping coffee. “Uh no, I’m an adult, I can take care of myself,” I argued. Aito stared at me for a minute, a long minute, “Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” she said. Kia walked out of the bedroom carrying a bag, her purse, and her phone. “Where do you think you’re going?” Aito asked frustrated.

“None of your business,” Kia replied, as she packed up her meds. Aito looked angry, but she didn’t yell. She simply looked Kia in the eye, “Where.Are.You.Going?” she demanded. “Somewhere, anywhere without your bullshit,” Kia replied. She turned to me, “Birdie, can I crash at your place?” she asked heading towards the door. I shrugged my shoulders. I opened my mouth to speak, but Aito interrupted me. “No, you’re staying here,” she said crossing her arms. Kia looked at me as if for support, but I backed up not wanting to get in the middle. Kia sighed. “Fine. But don’t expect me to interact with either of you,” she said frowning at us. She went back into the bedroom and slammed the door. My phone dinged. It was a text from Hyung-Shik with the details for the restaurant.


End file.
